


I Can Help With That

by LoveEffect



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Am I going to stop? Absolutely not., Am I projecting onto these characters? Absolutely, Gen, They're both a bit ADHD if you squint, Trans Peter, Trans Peter Parker, Trans Tony Stark, trans tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 14:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveEffect/pseuds/LoveEffect
Summary: Tony notices that Peter isn't his normal self, and decides to let him know that he's here for him.





	I Can Help With That

Tony and Peter had been working tirelessly on improvements to the Spider Suit for a few hours when Tony finally turned down the music and broke their silence.

 

“You okay, kiddo? You’ve usually gone through three conversations at this point.”

 

Peter winced slightly at the reminder of how much he talks, but he just shrugged.

 

“I won’t pry,” Tony said. “But if you wanna talk, any time, I’m here. You know I rarely sleep,” he said, chuckling, and Peter managed a small smile.

 

They worked for another few minutes before Peter put his pen down with a small sigh.

 

“I’m just tired, Mr. Stark,” he said, and Tony put his tablet down to look at Peter.

 

“Tired as in you didn’t sleep well, or tired as in finals are coming up, or tired as in you’ve been treading water for way too long and kinda want to sleep for a week straight?”

 

Peter looked at Tony, slightly alarmed at the accuracy. “The last one, I guess,” he said, looking away and trying not to fidget. “It’s just--it’s exhausting.”

 

Tony moved around the workbench, stopping next to where Peter was sitting to lean against the table. He didn’t say anything, just loosely crossed his arms and looked at Peter with an expression Peter wasn’t quite used to seeing on the man.

 

“Before I came out to myself, I kina just threw myself into effeminate things, ‘cause I obviously just wasn’t trying hard enough to be a girl, that’s why it felt so wrong. And I threw myself in so deep that I don’t even know what I taught myself, so I’m not sure what I need to relearn, I don’t know what gives me away as not-a-guy. And it’s exhausting to remember to speak more monotone, and it’s exhausting to remember to let the cadence drop at the end of a sentence, and it’s exhausting to try and make sure my hips don’t sway when I walk and to keep my hands in my pockets and to nod instead of smile and to either laugh wholeheartedly or not at all and… I’m just tired of putting on a performance just so other people will see what I already know.”

 

Tony was silent for a moment, and Peter felt his cheeks start to burn. He shouldn’t have said anything. “Sorry, we can get back to work now.” Tony frowned, then stood straight and put a hand on Peter’s shoulder.

 

“First off,” he said, holding up an index finger, “don’t ever apologize for having feelings or expressing those feelings, alright? I spent my entire childhood doing that, it goes nowhere good. Secondly,” he held up a second finger. “You’re allowed to feel things. I mean, look at me, I cry almost as much as Pepper does. Which, with the tremendous amount of stress I put on her, is a decent amount. I need to give her a vacation,” he said, almost to himself. “Third of all,” he said before pausing, looking Peter in the eye. “I can help with that.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really. See, masculinity is a learned art, and there’s a thin line between confident and toxic.” Tony moved away, starting to pace slightly. “I watched my dad enough to learn the toxic side, and I was around my nannies enough to balance it out.”

 

“That’s kinda messed up, Mr. Stark,” Peter said, suddenly worried about this grown man’s childhood, but Tony just waved a hand with an air of nonchalance.

 

“Past is the past, I was a trans boy in the seventies and eighties, it is what it is, but I can make things easier for you because of that experience. Wow, my therapist would be proud of that sentence.”

 

Tony made a large gesture, saving all their work and shutting down the holograms in the lab. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of Peter, explaining things as well as he could.

 

A few hours later, Pepper ventured up to Tony’s private lab to tell them that it was getting late and Peter should really be getting home, but seeing them engrossed in conversation, decided to give them just a bit more time.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the universe in which Tony Stark gets a good therapist and deals with his shit, I guess.
> 
> I wish I had someone like Tony to teach me the basics of masculine presentation, it would have made things a lot easier.


End file.
